Police tactical team members leave the Workers Compensation Board building in Edmonton, Alberta on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. A man who took nine people hostage at gunpoint in Edmonton is again eligible for statutory release but he will be required to return to a half-way house each night and abide by seven other conditions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jimmy Jeong

Edmonton hostage taker eligible for release

Patrick Clayton was given an 11-year sentence and granted day parole in 2015

A man who took nine people hostage at gunpoint in Edmonton is again eligible for statutory release but he will be required to stay at a half-way house and follow a series of other conditions.

Patrick Clayton got an 11-year sentence for hostage taking, pointing a firearm and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose for the crimes he committed in 2009 at the Worker’s Compensation Board office.

He had been granted day parole in 2015 and transitioned into statutory release, which requires offenders who aren’t serving a life sentence to be released after they’ve served two-thirds of their sentence.

Clayton’s release was revoked in May 2017 after he admitted to using crystal meth and failed to return to the community-based residential facility where he had been living.

He’s again eligible for statutory release.

The Parole Board of Canada says it has imposed eight special conditions for his release.

They include staying at an approved residential facility; not consuming alcohol and drugs; not entering any offices occupied by the Worker’s Compensation Board; and, reporting any relationships with women to his parole supervisor.

“Overnight leave privileges are not supported as you have no confirmed community support,” says the Feb. 10 decision.